Talking Top 100, with John Myers

CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Last night we published the 16th edition of Capitol Weekly’s Top 100 – our annual analysis of the unelected political power structure in California. We look at the mostly behind the scenes players who influence policy, elections and governance, including Capitol staff, lobbyists, Agency staff, donors, business leaders, activists, Labor leaders – and even journalists.

Hosts Rich Ehisen and Tim Foster are joined by former KQED reporter and LA Times Bureau Chief John Myers, who left journalism for communications two years ago, but still keeps a watchful eye on Golden State politics. Few political observers are more respected than Myers – one of the many reasons he was a mainstay of the Top 100 List for more than a dozen years. (His kids nicknamed his Top 100 portrait ‘Old Squinty.’)

Myers, Ehisen and Foster discuss the broad themes that underlie the 2024 list, look at the new faces, and talk about the names on the inaugural Top 100 Hall of Fame.

1:52 Live tweeting the California Budget

4:18 The Top 100 Hall of Fame

5:37 George Skelton

9:23 Donna Lucas

11:07 Gale Kaufman

15:58 Steve Maviglio

19:49 Aaron Read

23:32 Themes of the 2024 Top 100

25:43 The executive branch and organized Labor

30:59 Jennifer Barrera

31:00 Rob Lapsley

32:06 Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher

32:41 Tia Orr

32:48 Yvonne Wheeler

33:50 Oscar Lopez

35:04 Danny Curtin

36:38 Janus Norman

37:05 Tony Bui, Laiza Negrete and Ramona Prieto

40:14 Taryn Luna

41:22 Chris Cadelago

41:30 Ashley Zavala

47:47 Who is NOT on the list – and why?

49:56 John Latimer

50:00 Liz Snow

50:06 Myesha Jackson

50:22 Building the list

59:03 Susannah Delano

1:01:39 Venn Diagram

1:04:34 Last Thoughts